What I did during my summer vacation

Yep, all three days' vacation.

A confusing ride to Batangas pier led us to a rickety boat ride to Talipanan, Puerto Galera. Contrary to what I've heard, Batangas Pier isn't at all bad. It's quite modern, and way, way better than the piers in Manila.

Fast forward to the resort, Mengie's, where they served us the freshest seafood. Yum...you gotta wait a whole hour, though. Service is really slow and inefficient, albeit friendly.

Where the rooms are.



I didn't take pics of the inside of the room. Suffice to say it wasn't worth the 4 megapixels in my camera.

And the beach. Really clear waters there. Take note, though. This is Talipanan, not White Beach. Talipanan is at the tip of PG, where it's a great deal quieter. We visited White Beach that evening, and let me say that place needs to get its act together. The first thing you'll notice is the concrete platform where the bars, restos, and stores are located. Concrete at the beach? Far from charming. It's really, really, UGLY, like a palengke greeting you upon arrival. And the bars have nothing different to offer, all the same beers and pulutan and hip-hop music. Or perhaps I'm getting too old for this scene.


Anyways, back to Talipanan.

Really quaint, really quiet. Luka's, a small Italian resto known for its huge, delectable pizzas, also serves the best coffee in Talipanan. Nevermind that it's the only resto in Talipanan with a cappuccino maker.

A pizza from Luka's, which LP was only too happy to devour.

LP begged for a tattoo before we left. She picked a Chinese character for "dragon," the year she was born in. (Incindentally, my mother and I are both dragons. So there are three lady dragons at home right now.)

What did you do during your summer vacation?

LP goes snorkeling

The highlight of LP's summer, snorkeling. Here she is scanning the water for sharks.

After much thrashing and hair-pulling, we finally got her to stick her head in the water.

And this is just a bit of what she saw:

Beautiful, isn't it?

And then there's me. And my fabulous butt. Amazing what camouflage the sea can do.

Whatta looong lull...

...and I apologize to my millions of followers, most of who probably don't/can't post comments on my blog.

Updates, in chronological order.

1. I resigned from the small consulting firm I once loved so much. Enslaved myself for three and two-thirds years, and it all came down to a simple, I love you, goodbyeeeeee!

2. Went on a short vacation the Sunday before the Holy Week. Since my only objective was to relax and take a dip on a shoestring budget, I decided Puerto Galera would be ideal. What can I say? You get what you pay for. Will post pics later. Should I dare compare PG to Boracay? Still thinking about it.

3. My folks are home and chocolates are filling up a third of fridge space.

4. My prayers were answered, and I suppose some feng-shui tips helped as well. Got myself a new job, and an absolutely spacious cubicle with a nice view. Top-rate office address, to boot.